“Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel, his father, in Goshen. He presented himself to him, and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.”
– Genesis 46:29
I love Genesis 46:29. This is the reuniting of Jacob and Joseph, so put yourself in Jacob’s shoes. You have thought for years that your son, Joseph, I could even use the term favored son, son you loved, beloved son, was killed and has been dead, and you have mourned and mourned and mourned over this. And now, you see your son’s face in a way you never could have dreamed or imagined.
Can you imagine that scene? And then for Joseph to have longed for his dad all these years, to have been in a dungeon, to have been a slave, and not knowing what had happened to his family, and specifically his dad. And at this moment, to see his dad’s face and to go running to him, presented himself to him, fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. This reunion, what a powerful picture.
God Brings Reconciliation and Reunion
Again, it admits all the sin and evil and injustice in the story, to see God bringing about reconciliation and reunion in a way that just is leading them to weep on each other. Just imagine the emotion in this scene. And there’s so much we could pray according to this verse, but I want to lead us simply to praise God for that reality of reconciliation and reunion for all who trust in God. This is obviously happening on this Earth in Genesis 46:29, but as soon as I read this, I’ll just share what comes to my mind.
What comes to my mind is my dad. I distinctly remember, won’t forget, the moment when I got a call years ago that he had died unexpectedly from a heart attack. And my dad was my best friend, and I love my dad so much. Ever since that day, I have mourned and looked forward to the day when I would see him again. And when I read Genesis 46:29, and I see Jacob and Joseph reunited, and Joseph falling on his neck, and weeping on his neck a good while, that’s what immediately comes to my mind when I read this passage, the day that’s coming, when I go to be with the Lord and I see my dad again. I don’t know all that heaven’s going to involve, but I picture a joyful reunion along these lines.
Genesis 46:29 Awaits the Joyous Reunion of Heaven
And the reality is, because of what Jesus has done on the cross, this is where the story leads for all who trust in him. Heaven is a place of joyful reunion, of full reconciliation, in a way that’s even deeper than Genesis 46:29 shows, because there will be no more sin and no more evil and no more famine and no more difficulties. All will be right. So for all who’ve trusted in Jesus, I just want to lead us to praise God for the coming reunion that heaven will be, for the coming reconciliation that we will know for all who have trusted in Jesus, in ways that will be so good for us, and so glorifying to the God who makes it possible.
God, we praise you for this reality. We praise you that for all who trust in you, death is not the end. We praise you for eternal life in you, that though we die, we will live. And this is the testimony of everyone who trusts in you. We look forward to heaven. We look forward to that joyful reunion. And so God, we pray that you will help us to share the gospel with zeal today. God, please help us not to be silent with the good news of eternal life that we have in Jesus.
Genesis 46:29 Prays for the Gospel to Unite All Nations
God, we pray for family members right now who don’t know Jesus. We pray that you would draw them to faith in Jesus and help us to share the gospel with them. God, we pray for friends, for coworkers, for neighbors who don’t know Jesus. Oh God, we pray for the Khatri people in India, 2.3 million of them, 0.0% followers of Jesus. God, we pray for the Khatri people, even as we think about heaven, the joy of being united in heaven with eternal life, with every nation, tribe, and tongue. Bring it about among the Khatri people of India. God, we pray, help us to live today with the urgency of eternity and with the comfort that comes with knowing this kind of reunion will be ours forever in heaven.
All glory be to your name, Jesus, that even as we prayed yesterday through Genesis 45, that sin and evil and injustice don’t have the last word and that ultimately death does not have the last word. God, we love and praise you. Jesus, we exalt your name as our Savior and our Lord, the one who makes eternal life possible for all who trust in you, eternal joy possible, eternal reunion possible for all who trust in you. We love you. We love the gospel. God, we love the way you love us, and the promises that you have given to us to stand upon in this world as we look to the world to come. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
